Even the Turkish military are stating we “shot ourselves in the foot” - and I imagine the rest of the world is viewing our Congress with the same disdain they do President Bush:
Turkey Lashes Out at U.S. Lawmakers for Armenian ‘Genocide’ Measure
Turkey criticized U.S. lawmakers and recalled its ambassador after a House panel voted to approve a measure that recognizes the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I as “genocide.” A congressman and a former U.S. diplomat explain the issues at hand.
KWAME HOLMAN: In Turkey today, there were street protests decrying a vote by a committee of the U.S. Congress. That vote labeled as “genocide” the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in the early 20th century.
Turkish politicians joined demonstrators in Istanbul, denouncing the vote of American politicians. Erkan Onsel is vice president of Turkey’s Labor Party.
ERKAN ONSEL, Vice President, Turkish Labor Party (through translator): The United States of America legitimized the Armenian genocide claim, which has swung over Turkey’s head like a stick and which has posed a threat to Turkey for years. The U.S. has made it clear once again that it targets Turkey. MORE
It’s time to shed the partisanship and see our Congress work together to solve the many important issues that face our country. I have never stated that the issue of what happened in World War I should be off the agenda forever, but to push for legislation that is detrimental to our war effort, whether it’s legal or we like it or not has to be transcended by the need to insure that our troops receive their supplies, ammo, and necessities in a timely manner, and it’s not the time to make other arrangements that will be costlier to the US, and quite literally, the added expense will eventually be another burden passed-on to the American taxpayer, notwithstanding the danger to the troops if a conflict arises in Iran.
William Cormier
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